Personal testimony

This summer, my husband and I decided to spend the summer holiday with our family in Greece. The natural beauties, magnificent beaches, the warm sea and the Greeks’ traditional hospitality exceeded our expectations. We live in Austria, in Vienna. The journey to our destination wasn’t short and when you travel with two small children, you never know when and where problems may arise. We did our best to prepare well and make all the arrangements on time. Some things were bought beforehand, and some could be purchased at the resort. Greece is a few days’ ride away, so the preparations were quite demanding. As recommended by our friends and relatives, we took out a travel insurance policy. We didn’t require a visa to travel to Greece, so the travel insurance coverage wasn’t necessary for that purpose, but we bought it anyway. It wasn’t very expensive and our insurer made a detailed list of all the costs covered and explained under which circumstances the insurance can be used. The information was precise and reassuring. The truth is that you never know what may happen during a trip, especially if you’re travelling with children. Unexpected situations can easily turn a long expected vacation into a living hell. Colds, jelly fish stings, insect bites, injuries… I’m sure you get the picture.

And it did happen. After the first week, which was totally uneventful, both of our children, one after the other, slipped on the polished promenade tiles (it was raining a few hours before), fell and had a mild concussion. Our kids are four and eight years old, so it’s easy to imagine how and why this happened.

Of course we started panicking, but after pulling ourselves together, we contacted our insurer. They gave us the instructions how to get to the nearest children’s hospital, where the doctors had already been informed about our arrival. Our kids were taken care of immediately. After the first check-ups and x-rays, it became clear that we were lucky this time and that their health wasn’t really at risk. Still, the doctors insisted that they should spend the night at the hospital to make sure they had the required care at hand just in case. All went perfectly well and we wish to thank everyone for their assistance and quick response. The insurer covered our medical bills and also coordinated with the hospital staff when our children were admitted. The price of the insurance policy was only a fraction of the cost of the medical care our kids received.

Our recommendation to all the people who are reading this: make sure you get a travel insurance policy before you go abroad. It’s a must-have!!!